Legends are Invincible
by TheOrientExpress
Summary: A brand new Thomas and Friends fan fiction! Accompany Sandy the kkStB 306.02, one of the few remaining engines that pulled the famous Orient Express across Europe, and her best friends on their adventures across the island of Sodor and beyond with an intriguing love story involving James the red engine and other main characters of the TV series.
1. Chapter 1 – Is it Hatred or pure Love

**Chapter 1 – Is it Hatred or pure Love deep down?**

The work was getting harder over the years on the island of Sodor. It wasn't helping either that Sir Topham Hatt was ordering engines from the mainland to help out. Engines of all kinds had come and gone, but nothing really changed and the Fat Controller's fleet was getting more tired with every day passing by.

One very warm day in the middle of the summer season, Sir Topham Hatt was speaking to his engines at Tidmouth sheds. He explained that they will be helped out with another three locomotives from the mainland and that Thomas, Edward and Henry were to meet them and show them around the island. As the Fat Controller left in his blue car, the engines started to busily discuss and wonder about the three newcomers that were to come to their island.

"I just hope that there won't be another Spencer among them," Gordon said and rolled his eyes. "I couldn't stand if there were more engines bragging about how fast and how good they are..."

"Hopefully one of them is another tank engine like Thomas and me to help us with the shunting work," Percy said with hope in his voice and, looking over to his best friend, he could see that Thomas was the same opinion.

As they were all busy making plans and trying to guess the kind of engines that would come, there was one engine in particular that was staying silent and tried to process what he had just heard. That specific red mixed-traffic engine wasn't all too happy about the newcomers. It meant that maybe there was an engine among them that would take his work away and therefore make him shunt in the yards which he despised oh so much. James wanted nothing more than for everything to remain the way it was even if it meant that he and his friends had to work twice as hard. He decided that the best thing to get his thoughts off the news was work, so he headed straight to Knapford to arrange trucks. He hated that kind of work, but at least it kept his thoughts elsewhere and time went by faster that way as well.

The next day, James was assigned to double head the express with Emily so he would be busy until evening. He still thought about the previous day's news, but started to focus on his work as pulling the express was an important job. Meanwhile Thomas, Edward and Henry were heading for Vicarstown where they were told to meet the new engines. They arrived just in time to hear three loud and sharp whistles with different sounds echoing through the station and then they saw the new engines come into sight. Henry gasped at what he saw, Edward could just stare and Thomas, well let's say he wasn't very impressed, but rather displeased that there wasn't another tank engine. The three newcomers were indeed some engines that Thomas, Edward and Henry thought never would touch Sodor's rails. One of the new engines was each facing one of the Steam Team members. Thomas found himself opposite of a lovely, but shy looking, navy blue Caledonian Railway engine with grey eyes, soft features, blushing slightly which went really nice with her light pink lip colour and very noticable drivers, similar to Emily's. She reminded him of a young American actress called Jane Fonda he heard his driver talking about a while back and he had also shown him a picture of her.

Edward found himself facing one of the remaining engines of the Battle of Britain class. She was painted a lovely forest green, though Edward thought she looked a bit strange due to her sleek design but she had a very friendly smile on her face even though Edward knew she must have experienced quite a lot already. She had dark brown eyes with forest green eyeliner and beautifully shaped eyebrows complimenting her rosé-coloured lips, looking almost like Gina Lollobrigida.

And now Henry looked right into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, an unusual mixture of dark blue on the outside, fading into a blueish grey with some golden flecks here and there. They belonged to a kkStB 306 Express Locomotive in shining Royal Blue livery with golden boiler bands and lining. She also wore make-up suiting her livery, decent, but still striking enough to stand out from the rest, reminding him of the girls in a calendar his crew once bought and brought home with them.

He had only seen the cover model and her name, face wise this new engine looked very similar to this woman called Dita von Teese, just a bit younger. She wasn't very big either, maybe about the size of Edward or James, but she had drivers that would make even Gordon envious and therefore quite fast and capable of pulling coaches at rather high speeds.

Henry's mind has been turned upside down and it slightly upset him, she looked like she came freshly out of the works and he thought, ' _Oh great, another express engine, golden dome and boiler bands as well. From the looks of her she will be just as stubborn as James and Gordon together. Really, that's just what we need, three hot heads in the shed. But I could be wrong, I mean she only just arrived, so I could possibly be wrong..._ '

But he didn't get to finish his next thought because at this point the Fat Controller stepped out of the coach pulled by the Austrian newcomer and went to face the six engines. "Ladies, those are three of the engines of my railway. They are here to show you around the island and introduce you to the others later that day. The blue tank engine's name is Thomas, in the middle you have one of my mixed-traffic engines, Edward, and right here at the platform, that's Henry. We are honoured to have such a fine selection of mainland engines and also some great pieces of history here on Sodor and we hope that you will like your stay and prove yourselves really useful!"

"So now you know our names, what are yours?" Thomas asked and put on a smile.

"Well, my name's Tangmere, but where I come from everyone calls me Tina," said the green Battle of Britain class engine and smiled at the Steam Team members.

"I- I'm Calissa, but please call me Cally, I sort of like that better," stated the navy blue CR Single shyly and looked to the ground before her, blushing.

"My name is Sandy, but if you like you can also call me by my second name, Edita, even though not a lot do and I hardly respond to it, but I will listen to it at some point. They often refer to me as one of the Orient Express locomotives which my class and a few of my other relatives used to pull before World War 1. Sadly I'm the only one remaining of my class... my sisters didn't survive either World Wars apart from Sissi, my younger sister under the number 310.23. Well, at least we feel like sisters to each other though I haven't seen her for decades," the Austrian engine said with a small hint of a foreign accent, having a slightly sad look on her face, her light blue eyes wandering over the faces of Sodor's welcoming trio.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Edward said with a grim look, remembering the wars himself.

"I think it's time to show you around now, right? I can't be bothered to sit around here, doing nothing for ages." Henry broke the silence but he quickly regretted his words as he realized how rude he must have sounded.

Still, he wasn't sure why the controller gave him the job of tour guide for a day, he would've been much happier doing his usual routine. He felt sorry for the Austrian engine though, it must've been awful to have seen both World Wars and have next to no family left as a result. He had to admit though, she was pretty, and therefore probably just as vain as James.

So each of the residential engines set off with the one they were facing to show the females around the island. Thomas took Cally along his branch line, Edward was showing Tina his branch line and Henry went along the coast and express line with Sandy. He was still so struck by what he had just heard that he either couldn't say much or nothing at all. Henry was blushing lightly when Sandy looked at him with those blue eyes of hers. Even though she was smaller than him, she was easily keeping pace along the route they took.

As they were nearly done with the "sightseeing", Henry took Sandy to Brendam to show her the new harbour and took her to the track end where she had a great view of the setting sun. The royal blue express engine smiled brightly as the salty air caressed her face. There were no oceans back home so being able to get near the sea was always a real treat for her and she remembered how she had been going to Italy on a few occasions. The day had been pleasant so far despite Henry's previous rudeness. He'd shown her all of his favourite places on the island and the breath taking sunset was a perfect way to end the tour. However Henry had been quite shy throughout, perhaps he wasn't used to meeting someone new?

"I hope I can come here more often as long as I'm here," she said in Henry's direction.

He smiled at her then said, "Since there are more and more people visiting Sodor, moments like this got very rare."

"Well, we girls are here to help out, I hope there won't be too much work for you all anymore," Sandy answered before they slowly started to make their way back towards the sheds.

When Thomas, Edward and Henry returned to Tidmouth with the new engines in the evening, the others started muttering and exchanged curious glances. The three newcomers introduced themselves once more and then the residential engines in the sheds started to ask questions about their impressions of Sodor and what their jobs back on the mainland were. Though Tina spoke most of the time, Cally also tried to converse with the others.

Sandy hardly got a word out though as she noticed a red mixed-traffic engine staring at her, his face clearly showing the rage he was trying to hide desperately and his golden eyes literally boring into her. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, but the other engine simply disappeared into his berth with a cloud of smoke.

' _How_ _ **dare**_ _someone like her come to Sodor?! How could the Fat Controller, of all engines that are out there, get someone that reminds me of…?! But no, I rather not remember this. It won't help us, it will only cause trouble, I can see that already…_ ' his raging went on in his mind with him grumbling in his berth, hiding from the others.

Sandy was really confused, she had done nothing wrong. Why was he so angry?

' _Hm… he clearly seems to have a problem with me and I want to find out what it is. But somehow he reminds me of myself when I was freshly out the works and would snap at anyone near me because I didn't know better_ ,' she thought.

She was brought back to reality by Henry letting off steam beside her. Sandy jumped a bit but relaxed again as soon as she remembered where she was. She suddenly felt another unfriendly glare and looked in the direction it was supposed to come from. It was Gordon, looking quite angry and about to start throwing bad words at her. Sandy rolled back a few meters to get out of the danger zone.

"Eh, Gordon, is there something wrong?" Henry asked, looking at the big blue engine.

The others stopped their chatter and all looked in Gordon's direction.

"She!" he glared at Sandy again, "she won't be taking my express! I know an express engine by the look of their wheels and shape. She's one of those and she will certainly **NOT** take **MY** express from me and on top of it all she's blue too!" by now, he was almost yelling.

"Yikes, calm down, Gordon. No one said Sandy will take your express. She has orders to follow as you have too. Whatever work will be assigned to her, she will have to do it, no matter what kind of work it is," Edward said in an attempt to calm the big engine down.

This worked, but only to a certain degree, Gordon was still glaring at Sandy and wouldn't stop until he was too tired to keep his eyes open.

As it got late, the engines started going to sleep, one by one. Cally and Tina chose their spots in the shed before Sandy could even react. Cally was settled between Thomas and Edward and Tina was just backing up between Gordon and Henry so the only berth left for Sandy was on the far right, next to James who still seemed to hold back pent-up anger. She slowly backed up next to him and glanced in his direction. James narrowed his eyes at her and then quickly looked to the other side.

' _Can I never have my peace, not even in my berth? I mean what's she still doing here anyways?! Ha, I'll talk to the Fat Controller tomorrow, he has to send her back from where she came, or I will leave!_ ' his hateful thoughts were slowly dying as he drifted off to sleep.

Sandy decided that it was best to just wait until the next day and see if he would talk then to find out what made him that furious. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep though all she was dreaming of was that certain red mixed-traffic engine… and his amazing golden eyes!

The next morning, Sandy woke up when the sun started to rise. She blinked a few times, yawning, and then looked over to the others who were still sleeping. Immediately, she noticed that the engine who had been sleeping next to her was gone. Since her crew had already arrived and was preparing her for her first job, she asked them if they could leave the shed early to be on time for the job. Secretly she wanted to go and look for the red mixed-traffic locomotive she still didn't know the name of, but of course she couldn't tell them. It was still very early in the morning and the Fat Controller had already informed the crew, but not her about her job so they knew what it was and agreed to make a good first impression, appearing early at the station.

Since Sandy was new to the island, she took the chance and asked workmen about the engine she was looking for every time she had to stop at a signal. They told her that he had gone down the mainline and also advised her to wait for him at Knapford station where she would have to go anyways for her first job. Sandy thanked them and went off to Knapford to see if she could find who she was looking for there. As she reached the station, she saw the Fat Controller talking to one of the conductors on platform one so she decided to ask him as it was his railway and he knew all his engines and their schedules.

"Sir? I'm sorry to interrupt but..." she started out and waited patiently for Sir Topham Hatt to turn around and react to her.

"Yes, Sandy, what's the matter?" he asked her, wondering why she arrived that early. "It's still time till you will need to get on your first job."

"Well, I wanted to ask who that red mixed-traffic engine is and why he doesn't speak?" she returned a question.

"Oh, you probably mean James. But I can't really tell you why he's not talking. Normally he's very talkative." the Fat Controller answered, wondering what had gotten into James as well.

"Mmh... James… I do like that name. Oh, pardon me, but do you maybe know where he went this morning? I wanted to ask him why he was so angry yesterday and was literally trying to stare me down," was Sandy's next question.

"He went to fetch some trucks from Vicarstown, should be back any minute actually," the controller told her. "But I can't tell you either why he's angry."

"Thank you, sir! Do you mind if I wait for him right here?" Sandy pleaded with a bright smile.

"No problem at all. Since the others aren't out and about yet anyways, you're not blocking anyone's way so you can stay here. Besides, you need to be here for you first job anyways in a bit," he said with a smile as well.

The Fat Controller left and went into his office while Sandy stared down the mainline and soon caught a glimpse of something red approaching the station before a whistle echoed through the air, announcing the arrival of an engine. Sandy shuddered, her frame vibrating because of that wonderful sound. Then James slowly pulled into the station, a grim look still plastered on his face. Sandy didn't quite notice the blush that had formed on her cheeks as she looked at James, admiring his flawless paintwork.

He had nearly passed her completely when the train came to a stop. The Austrian express engine decided to play with fate and begged her crew to back her up to switch tracks to face James by saying she wanted to talk to him. When his gaze met hers, his jaw dropped and he blushed lightly for a second but he regained his composure rather quickly.

"Get out of my way! I have a job to finish!" he snapped at her.

"I'm sorry, but I won't talk around it so, why are you that angry with me, I didn't do anything?" Sandy asked straight out.

James had already opened his mouth for an answer, but then decided to say nothing. Instead, he slowly began to move forward again, approaching Sandy in hope she'd back up and switch tracks once more. But his hopes were in vain, she stayed in place stubbornly. The trucks behind James though, now not paid any attention, were making a plan to play a trick on him once more. They suddenly started to push him forward, right towards Sandy who now had a shocked expression on her face as she had noticed what they were up to.

"You stupid trucks, stop that!" James yelled at them, but to no avail.

His driver applied his brakes, but that didn't help much either. The train was heavy, very heavy and it was hard to stop it once in motion. Only moments earlier Duck had left him as he had acted as his back engine over Gordon's hill.

' _Damn that new engine! Wherever she turns up, she causes trouble, I knew it!_ ' James' mind literally screamed.

Sandy's driver had meanwhile thrown her into reverse to avoid damage to his engine, but wasn't aware that this was a dead end track and crashed right into the buffers behind her.

"Oh verdammt!" was all she could say before her eyes darted back only to see James struggle against the trucks that were still pushing him on.

Since he had been a good 300 meters away from Sandy when he started approaching her and the set of tracks they were on descended slightly, the trucks were able to push him that hard that he actually gained some speed and the slow reaction with applying his breaks didn't help it either. Sandy closed her eyes, preparing herself for the pain that was sure to come if the his crew wasn't able to get control over the trucks in time.

Luckily, pain never came. Instead, she felt something warm and soft against her lips, causing her to shudder once more. As she opened her eyes, she saw James backing away from her, blushing furiously and glancing to the back in anger, shouting rude insults at the trucks. She couldn't help but blush as well as she just noticed what had happened, slightly biting her own bottom lip, trying to savouring the taste.

He then looked back at her, baring his teeth and shouting, "You're to blame for this! If you hadn't been here, this wouldn't have happened!"

But Sandy was in thought so she didn't hear him, ' _As strange as this was, so good it felt. My god why am I even thinking this?! I don't even know him and he didn't say a nice word to me since I arrived either._ '

' _Why did the Fat Controller even have to get those mainland engines and then a troublemaker like her on top of it?! But, strangely, her lips were so soft and... Oh damn it, focus on your work, not on that, that..._ ' his thoughts trailed off as he noticed her blush in embarrassment, making his anger melt at least a small bit. ' _Hm, I shouldn't have been so rude to her. She actually didn't do anything to me apart from her looking like that god-damn awful engine I once knew. I have to admit, she actually seems pretty nice. But still she's in my way when I try to finish my work!_ '

A bit more collected and with a calmer voice, James asked, "Can you move out of my way now? Unlike you, I have work and need to finish to take on my next job."

Sandy's crew looked her over quickly to make sure she hadn't been damaged, then moved her forward, switching tracks to get back to the station platform to await orders, leaving her still highly embarrassed. James meanwhile had left the trucks in the siding where they belonged and then went to the station as well to wait for further instructions as he was told to do so after his first train, the small accident from before still playing in his mind.

' _Stupid me, why didn't I pay enough attention to my trucks? I mean I should already know they cause trouble whenever they get the chance to. Seems like I just caught myself being distracted by that new engine. She's a passenger engine, which means she probably will cause more trouble, like taking my passengers from me. They surely want her to pull the coaches, not me. Of all the things I feared, this is the worst! She'll take away my job and then the Fat Controller will make me shunt in the dirty yards again! Bleh…_ ' his anger started to build up again while he made his way to the platforms.


	2. Chapter 2 – Awkward Feelings

Back at Knapford, Sandy sat at platform one, blushing and gazing to the ground, repeating the events over and over in her mind. A few moments later, she caught a quick glimpse of something red appearing beside her before staring straight down to the ground, not able to look anywhere else; that strange, yet wonderful feeling from before still lingering on her lips.

James in turn threw an angry glare at her once again, though as he noticed she didn't even bother looking at him he just rolled his eyes and sighed, thinking, ' _Fine then, I don't need to talk to her anyways. Best she stays out of my way and we're all happy then._ '

A few minutes later, the Fat Controller arrived in his blue car. He wanted to assign jobs to each of the two engines, but was a bit irritated by the fact that Sandy was completely out of character and James didn't listen to what he was saying so he abruptly stopped talking and watched the reactions. Sandy snapped back to reality first, slowly speaking up, "I'm sorry, sir, I was in thought..."

"I hope this won't affect your work today! You are going to collect some empty trucks at Brendam and taking them to the quarry as your first job. Henry will help you with this as you haven't been to the quarry yet. He should be here any moment as I already informed his crew a few minutes ago. At lunchtime, you are to meet Emily here at Knapford. She will take you down the express line to show you all the significant points you have to remember when you will pull coaches on your own. Gordon is busy and therefore I asked Emily to help you," the Fat Controller said.

"Thank you, Sir. I will try my best," Sandy answered and smiled brightly, the incident from before nearly forgotten.

"Oh and before I forget, you will be double heading the evening special with James today. He will meet you here around teatime. Percy will help you two with the coaches," the Fat Controller added.

James rolled his eyes once more, "But, sir… there nearly was an, well, accident before and she was the cause of it." He glared over to Sandy.

"No 'buts' James, work is work and you have to do as I tell you. I got a railway to run and you have to follow my orders," the Fat Controller answered.

"Fine then, but don't blame me when…" James couldn't finish as he was interrupted.

"Nobody is blaming you of anything and nothing happened, so would you please stop and move on with your work for now?" slowly, Sir Topham Hatt was losing his patience.

"Hrm… ok then," was all James had to say to that.

As soon as Henry arrived, he and Sandy set off to Brendam docks. Sandy was pulling ahead as she wanted to go a bit faster to be done with her jobs early to come back and see the sunset again.

"Please, slow down a bit. You know I'm not an express engine. We'll get to Brendam soon enough," Henry said from behind her, quite irritated and a bit surprised that she already knew her way better than most other new engines.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get my work done as soon as possible. I- I wanted to go back to Brendam in the evening to see that wonderful sunset again," Sandy answered, slowing down again to match Henry's speed.

When the two arrived at the docks, a long line of empty trucks was already awaiting them. They were giggling and making fun of Sandy.

"Look at her, sure she's from a midget railway," one of the trucks said and the others busted out into a choir of laughter.

As Sandy heard that, she moved closer to the trucks, narrowing her eyes at them and gritting her teeth.

"What did you just say?!" she asked, an angry look on her face.

"Nah, I got a question for you all here: What does this thang and a _scrap iron_ have in common? They're both empty in their smokeboxes!" this was followed by a roar of laughter from the trucks and it only angered her more.

"Oh I got a better one! Why does she go to the washdown and drink soap water? She wanted to be spotless inside out!" another chimed in.

Sandy finally lost patience and blew steam and ashes at her offenders, making them cought gasp for fresh air.

"Ooh... watch out, the black dragon will get you!" another truck said, mocking her as he had regained his breathing.

This clearly was enough for Sandy. She shuddered from anger, making her fireman stumble inside her cab, accidentally grabbing her regulator in hopes to regain his balance which made her lurch forward and bump into the trucks, hissing, "I'm not black!"

They started to squeak and cry out in shock and then they fell silent because of fear to enrage her more. Henry was impressed and also aware that this probably caused a more severe plan of the trucks to trick them later on. He would've never thought that the trucks gave up on mocking an engine that fast and the silence that fell over them was deceiving. He prepared himself to be coupled to the line of trucks when workmen suddenly started to buzz around the turntable.

Sandy was waiting patiently until one of the workmen came up to her and said, "We sadly can't get the turntable working; some important piece has broken off. I'm sorry but you'll have to pull the trucks backwards."

Sandy was slightly upset, but backed up to switch tracks, facing Henry. Just at that moment, they heard someone shouting and laughing. Apparently, they got the turntable to work again, screwing the broken piece back on to be able to turn her around at least by man power, so Sandy backed up onto the turntable and they turned her around. She then reversed and got coupled to Henry and the two set off, whistling as they departed. But trucks weren't trucks if they hadn't planned some sort of revenge on Sandy for biffing them around. As they reached the top of a steep hill, the trucks began pushing the two engines and they went faster and faster. Henry's and Sandy's crews tried in vain to apply their brakes; the long train was just too heavy to be stopped downhill and they would only end up with flats on their wheels if they kept the brakes locked in place.

Suddenly, Sandy had an idea, "We have to try and apply our brakes in turns, that way we could build up enough power to stop those trucks pushing us down the line!"

Henry thought that her idea could work so their crews worked together to achieve what Sandy had suggested. Eventually the train started to slow down and came back to normal pace until they reached a station where Henry had to take on water.

"Wow, it's time that someone teaches those trucks some respect," Sandy said as they were resting at the water tower.

"Trucks will stay trucks, sad but true," Henry answered. ' _She still has a lot to learn about trucks, doesn't seem she's handled a lot of them yet_ ,' he thought

"Yes, but I still hope for the better and..." Sandy was interrupted mid-sentence as James passed by, grumbling and shouting at the trucks he was pulling.

His face was red and Sandy assumed the trucks were causing him trouble as well. And also by seeing James, she was reminded of their incident in the morning, causing her to blush slightly and biting her lower lip.

"I, er... think we should get going again. They will be waiting for them trucks at the quarry by now," Sandy stuttered and started to set off again.

Henry raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't ask any further questions even though he wanted to know what had happened, ' _I wonder why she's behaving that strange way every time she sees James. Ah well, I'll ask her later on when we're done with our job._ '

So silently, they continued on their way until they finally reached the quarry. After the trucks had been filled with their load, Sandy backed up to the train and Henry got coupled to the front of her. She was happy about that since then Henry wouldn't need to stare at her all the time now and he knew the way better too. After a quick and smooth journey, the two finally reached their destination and Sandy got uncoupled from Henry and the train.

Now he saw his chance to ask her what had happened, "May I ask you something before you're off for your next job?"

"What would you like to know, Henry?" she replied, a bit unsure of what was to come. ' _Oh damn, he probably noticed my shaky voice when James passed by beforehand…_ '

"Well, when we stopped for me to take on water, James passed by with some trucks. I noticed you felt a bit uneasy when you spotted him so I wanted to ask for the reason of your reaction," he came straight to the point.

"Urm, actually… it's nothing. At least nothing important," Sandy tried to avoid the topic.

"There must be something when you…"

"No! And don't be so curious, that's not healthy," Sandy told him, then went on, slightly regretting her harshness, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come across rude. I just don't know what has gotten into me."

She then whistled good-bye to the green engine and set off for Knapford to meet Emily.

All the while she went along towards the main station, she had a strange feeling in the pit of her boiler but couldn't quite sort out what it meant. She shrugged it off when she arrived and focused on what Emily was telling her about the express line. Sandy took mental notes of all the significant points and spots she thought important to remember later on and enjoyed Emily's company. After a few hours, Sandy and Emily returned to Tidmouth sheds where the Fat Controller was already waiting for them.

"It came to my ears that you worked fast and right on time, Sandy. You seem to settle quite nicely here and so I decided to send you to the wash down as a reward to get cleaned before pulling the evening special with James," the Fat Controller said with a content smile on his lips.

"Thank you, Sir! I really appreciate that," Sandy answered, beaming with delight and getting ready to set off for finding the wash down after she had asked Emily how to get there.

Finally, evening was settling in on Sodor and Sandy was contently sitting at platform one at Knapford, waiting for James to arrive; her thoughts were constantly trailing off to that incident with James earlier though, ' _Oh my, why does this affect me so much? He hasn't been very nice, yet he seems to hide something behind all his anger and I'm determined to find that out soon_ ,' Sandy thought to herself.

Suddenly she heard a whistle and then she saw James puffing proudly into the station. His paintwork was gleaming in the evening sun. Sandy assumed that he had been at the wash down too to look his best for the passengers. And there it was again, that strange yet good feeling she had had the whole day when thinking of him. Her whole frame was shivering and if she would have been human, she'd have had goose bumps on her skin. Sandy couldn't explain where this came from, nor did she want to explain it. As James spotted her, he grumbled and rolled his eyes at her, though stopping right beside her.

"What are you doing here, that's my place!" he snarled at her.

"I was here first! Besides, how should I get to know the line when your joke of a tender is blocking my view?!" Sandy snapped back at him, clearly not in the mood to discuss this further.

"What did you just say?" James asked in a dangerously low voice. "I warn you, I can…"

Just then, the Fat Controller arrived. "Now that's enough James. If your behaviour doesn't change for the better, I'll ask Edward to double head the train with her."

"But she… sorry, sir…" the red mixed-traffic engine started, but then thought it was better not to say a word anymore for now.

"Very well then, Percy will have your coaches ready in a few minutes. You two will be leaving right on time! Oh and after you're done with your one-way run, Gordon will take the special back to Knapford so you will have the time off for the rest of the evening," the Fat Controller explained.

"Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" both James and Sandy said in unison.

By now, Percy was done arranging their coaches and the two tender engines prepared for their departure. Once the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, James and Sandy started to pull out of the station, though Sandy got power down to her wheels faster than James; she nearly tore the coupling apart.

"Move already! I don't want to be late because of you!" she snorted impatiently.

"Who are you to order me around, eh?" James growled at her before lurching forward, bumping into her and pushing her forward.

"Verdammt, pass auf, das hat weh getan! Aber dir ist das ja egal… pff…." Sandy suddenly switched to a different language.

"What did you just say there?!" James was confused.

"Oh, nothing in particular, now get going or we're really going to be late," the royal blue kkStB 306 replied.

They slowly started to pick up speed as they went through the countryside, passing through several stations. For one short moment though, the wind blew a cloud of Sandy's smoke into James' face, which caused him to cough quite violently.

"Gah, god damn it what coal are you burning in your firebox?! It smells awful, just like the black smoke Henry used to blow out before him being rebuilt. Bleh..." James asked her with a raspy voice, annoyed that he wasn't able to beathe properly now.

"Oh forgive me, Mr. 'I'm so splendid'! Austrian coal may not be of the high quality you have here, but at least I don't need to be rebuilt to be able to burn it and nobody ever complained about that!" Sandy answered with a sarcastic tone.

James only grumbled at that and tried to keep his mouth shut until they reached their first stop. They waited patiently until passengers left or boarded the train before continuing on their way. At first it all looked like they calmed down again but then Sandy started speeding up more, making it a bit hard for James to keep pace, until she was more or less dragging him along the rails.

Suddenly she felt something snap, making her shoot forward for a moment, and James cried out from behind, "Oh damn, look what you've done now! You not only broke the coupling, but also ripped my coupling hook half way out!"

Sandy gasped in shock at what she had just heard. She didn't mean to do this, but she was used to going fast on regular express passenger trains. Her crew slowed down a bit to match James' speed, then switched tracks to let him pass by with the coaches before switching tracks again to buffer up behind the last coach, everything without saying a single word. She didn't know what to say anyways and it would be a lot of explaining if the Fat Controller found out.

When they reached the next station on their route, they stopped for their crews to survey the damage. Both drivers and firemen decided that they would keep James as the pilot and Sandy as the back engine to avoid another coupling to snap so they coupled her to the back on the train. The rest of their run went by in silence until they reached Vicarstown where Gordon was to take the train to go back to Knapford.

As the two engines got uncoupled from the coaches, they both went for the water tower, though Sandy kept a lot of space between her and James to avoid further problems. She kept her gaze locked to the ground, not even able to look at the damage that she had caused on James. This first day had been nothing but stress for her so far and she was hoping for a good rest before going back to the sheds.

"What did you even think you've been doing there? You could've derailed the whole train, including me! And then my paintwork would've been ruined!" James snapped at her again.

"Hey, we know it now, no need to keep it up!" she looked miserable, about to cry, before she added, hardly a whisper, "I'm sorry…"

She went for the turntable to be turned around and then backed up in the siding next to the water tower, sighing and wishing she was back home again, in the museum where she didn't cause any trouble to others. Sandy hadn't been out for decades and had just enjoyed the long run from Austria to Sodor and now she messed things up on her first day already. James saw her downcast gaze and he realized he had been a bit too harsh. But he wasn't one to apologize fast and admit he had done something wrong so he just crept to the turntable slowly, feeling a bit guilty ruining her first run on a passenger train after a very long time. He knew part of her history from what the Fat Controller told him when James talked to him in the morning, asking why he ordered a compound engine again. And now he regretted his words, wishing he had thought them over before simply barking them out at an engine he hardly knew and that couldn't even begin to be compared with that Southern Schools Class he knew decades ago and that hurt him so badly.

As soon as he was turned around, he went back to the water tower, stopping right next to Sandy, wrinkling his nose slightly. He wanted to say something to break the awkward silence that had formed, but he didn't know what to say. This gave him time though to take a closer look at her and get a proper opinion. What he had seen so far from her personality, she had a heart of gold, but also a strong and stubborn mind, not easy to break. Almost like they held a mirror in front of him apart from the fact that she clearly spoke her mind and did not shy back from telling everyone what she was thinking. He let his eyes wander over her frame, her drivers, and her funnel until his gaze was glued to her face. For the first time he actually looked at her properly and was as struck by her eyes as Henry had been, though he would never admit it to her, at least not yet. Sandy noticed that he had been staring at her and looked at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow.

"Is there anything wrong with my face or why are you staring at me like that?" she asked him.

"I…. urm… n- nothing wrong," was all he brought past his lips before his eyes snapped away. ' _Oy, I hope she doesn't ask any further._ '

Sandy was tired, all she wanted was to head back to the sheds and get her rest, but now this troublemaker that had been getting on her nerves almost all day long was staring at her like she had dirt on her face. And why doesn't he close his mouth? Hasn't he seen a female engine with make-up before? It went to the point that she was more annoyed than tired and then simply decided to get back to Tidmouth, not waiting for James who still didn't move.

James only saw Sandy departing and was following her with his eyes as she disappeared, the evening sun casting a golden veil over her. Only then he noticed he should get going as well, he didn't want to miss out on his beauty sleep like he loved to call it and the sooner he came back to the sheds, the higher was the chance of him getting to choose his berth. Though all the way back, Sandy's face, her eyes and the sadness that was displayed in them, wouldn't leave his mind anymore.


	3. Chapter 3 – Speed Jealousy?

Back at the sheds, Tina was having a seemingly interesting conversation with Henry about nature as she had only discovered her love for plants and animals recently. They were engrossed in their conversation until Sandy had backed into her usual berth and let off steam, sighing.

"My god, you look terrible, what happened to you? I haven't seen you in such a miserable state since…" Tina asked, quite a bit worried, but was interrupted by Sandy.

"Tina! Please, don't ever start this topic again. You know what happened last time," Sandy answered. "And _what happened_?! This empty smokebox of a red mixed-traffic engine has been so damn rude today and then he even had the guts to stare at me like I was from another planet!"

The Battle of Britain class knew that her friend was annoyed and only frowned, thinking it was better not to ask any further. Meanwhile, Sandy had completely retreated into her berth, sighing heavily and trying to get some sleep but that was cut short by an all too familiar whistle from a red engine moments later. All she could do was roll her eyes and closed them again in order to avoid conversation. This didn't keep James from slowly rolling up to her though. Sandy only grumbled in discontent, keeping her eyes firmly shut as James crawled closer.

He crept forward slowly, he knew that he had to get several things cleared up, but he didn't have a clue on how to start. He was sorry for what he had done and wished he could take it back, but he would never admit something like that directly to anyone but himself. James had even asked his crew for advice, but they told him he needed to sort that himself, only offering him to bring him up to face Sandy. The red mixed-traffic engine stopped only a few centimetres in front of her as he noticed how easily his buffer beam would go under hers since he had his lamp posts removed due to safety restrictions when not having any headlights on and in total height she was taller than him too. Only then he realized how the accident early in the morning probably happened and how it had felt actually made him blush.

' _Come on, you fool, get your senses back together, she's only another annoying engine after all, though she's got a really nice tender… Oh damn it, focus on what you want to say!_ ' his thoughts ran in circles while his eyes wandered over Sandy once again, he wasn't able to stop staring at her and his mouth had dropped open slightly.

Totally lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice how Sandy had opened her eyes, a frown on her lips and her eyes narrowed at him, annoyance clearly displayed in her voice as well, "Are you done staring now?! What's actually wrong with you anyways? You don't seem to like me, yet you seek my presence."

"I've never seen such perfection…" he muttered, not even noticing what he had just uttered until Sandy let out a small growl. "Oh! Er… of course I meant myself because I can see my reflection in your eyes, I'm the most splendid after all!"

"Is that all for now? If yes then I'd kindly ask you to let me get back to sleep," Sandy snarled at him, her voice dangerously low.

James backed up and rolled onto the turntable to be turned around before he backed into the berth next to Sandy's. He looked at her again, now being able to see her completely, but his eyes soon wandered to the ground in front of him as he sighed, trying to find the right words as not to annoy her further and get a proper apology to her as well without sounding too selfish.

"I- I didn't mean to be that rude, but you have to see I've been the only red engine here for decades and then the Fat Controller just comes here, bringing another one with him. She was a Southern Schools Class and she caused trouble wherever she went and people kept mistaking her for me, especially at night when seen from behind. It's only logical that I thought with two red engines, one would be hauled away for scrap and since I've been here longer my guess was that he would've sent me for scrap. But now I realize that in the end the Fat Controller found out who had been the one to cause trouble and sent her back to the museum she came from where they put her on display for a long time so she learned her lesson. I don't know where she ended up but when I saw you I thought she was back, just in a different shape since you and her got the same wheel arrangement and that made my anger come out again. I feared that you might be just like her and that you would take away my jobs, but you didn't. We all have to follow the controller's orders, including me…" James sort of talked around the topic.

"A simple ' _I'm sorry_ ' would've been enough you know," Sandy sighed, then went on, more to herself though, "Why are all the guys so complicated, always talking around the matter."

Her thoughts then trailed off to the time when she was on Orient Express service. She had met so many nice engines and had enjoyed their company, though there had also been some males, rather big ones too. They were also part of the finest classes for express passenger trains, though they thought they could get every girl they wanted. Sandy had learned that the hard way when she had fallen for that big BR 05 named Johann. First he had promised her the world and then just dumped her for a DB 18. Sandy sighed heavily, trying to hold back the tears that were burning in her eyes and silently, one small tear slipped out the corner of her left eye before she squeezed her eyes shut tightly to avoid more to come to the surface, she just wanted to sleep now to forget everything. This didn't go unnoticed by James whose normally stoic face clearly displayed the compassion and he silently hoped he wasn't the cause of her tears.

The next day, Sandy woke to the sound of a whistle she had never heard before. As she opened her eyes, she saw a silver streamliner backing up into the empty berth beside her. She wondered why she was the only engine left in the shed this morning but then simply shrugged it off and she had also managed to forget the previous day's events.

"My, my, who do we have here? One of the new mainland engines to help out," the silver engine said in Sandy's direction. "Gordon sure isn't happy that there is another express engine here now. By the way, my name's Spencer. I'm the private engine of the Duke and Duchess of Boxford. They are currently relaxing in their summer house."

"Ah, so you're the famous Spencer, same class as Mallard, right? You sure must be fast?" Sandy questioned him, raising an eyebrow.

"Why yes, of course I am. Gordon still thinks he's the fastest, but I'm obviously faster than him. Care for a little demonstration?" Spencer asked in hope he could show that new engine what a fast engine looks like.

"I got nothing to do anyways until lunch time so sure, we could also hold a race instead of a simple demonstration," Sandy said, quite sure he'd accept because he wouldn't think that she'd be fast enough to beat him anyways since he didn't know anything about her.

"I'd be delighted! Though be warned: First I know my way better around here and second I'm streamlined, so don't expect to be anywhere near winning," Spencer said with a self confidence that one could've sliced it into pieces.

So the two engines talked their crews into agreeing to a small race and then they set off for Knapford where they were to start their race. They found Edward shunting trucks to take down to his branch line. At first he didn't notice the two engines coming into the station until Sandy gave a short blast of her whistle and started to talk to him.

"Hey there, Edward! Spencer and me would need someone for a starting signal for our little race. Would you like to help us out with this, please?" Sandy asked the blue tender engine.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. If the Fat Controller finds out, we're all in trouble," Edward stated.

Sandy rolled closer to the blue mixed-traffic engine, whispering, "You know, I want to teach that teapot over there a lesson. He thinks he's the fastest and I will prove him wrong with a trick."

"Ok then, but don't involve me when you get caught because I told you not to," Edward told her.

So they lined up, Sandy at platform three and Spencer at platform one, Edward sat on the middle track between Sandy and Spencer, facing them.

"Pay attention to the signals though, you may start as soon as you hear my whistle, Gordon and Tina should have cleared the tracks with their trains beforehand so you're safe. The finish line will be at Suddery and I'll be taking a shortcut to get there to see the result," Edward stated calmly, looking at the two in turns.

"Shall I give you a little head start? As it is certain that I'll win this anyways," Spencer asked Sandy.

"Not really necessary. I want this to be as fair as possible," she answered, her plan was working out perfectly well.

"Fair?! My dear, this isn't fair at all considering I'm streamlined and one of the fastest engines in the world and…" Spencer had to laugh, quite sure of himself, but got interrupted by Edward's whistle.

Sandy could only smile to this inwardly as she already departed on her green signal, leaving Spencer behind and blowing a huge cloud of black smoke out her funnel and directly at him.

"Hey, I wasn't ready yet, that's unfair!" he coughed and spluttered, trying to follow her, but rather irritated and baffled at the smoke slightly blocking his view. Sandy laughed and disappeared behind the next bend.

Spencer tried his hardest to catch up with her. She was lighter than him, therefore being able to pick up speed a small bit faster than a heavy locomotive.

"Well, seems like the streamlining doesn't help you much, Spencer! By the way, I'm Sandy. I want you to remember my name and my face, because from now on all you'll..." her words were cut off, eyes wide as she was forced to swallow her own arrogance as Spencer suddenly appeared alongside her, looking smug though a bit irritated.

"What were you saying, dear girl?" he asked with a raised eyebrow brow.

The 306's eyes narrowed slightly but she didn't respond, she was going to make him eat those words. The pair rolled along the mainline, steadily gathering speed. However it was clear that Spencer was holding back and Sandy knew this. She knew what his class was capable of and it felt as though she was being mocked. It was at that moment that she silently cursed her designer, her railway and its restrictions. As they left the ourskirts of Knapford, Sandy's crew fought hard to keep her speed up but it was clear she was no match for an A4. As quickly as he had arrived, Spencer began to overtake her, wasting no time and the gap between the two grew larger and larger until he was a good distance away.

"You see my dear," Spencer called, "there is no way an old tin can like you can beat me! See you in Suddery!"

Sandy glared harshly at him, but she knew he couldn't see it. She slowly began to slow herself down. What had she been thinking, there's no way she could compete with these fancy, new engines! She mentally scolded herself for letting her pride get in the way and now she'd have to face the silver A4 and his gloating. It would be just like back home!

' _Greeaat..._ ' she thought to herself.

Just then she remembered Edward's words and she beamed brightly and sped up again. Maybe just maybe! Once she neared the junction her smile melted into a wicked grin as she spotted Spencer sitting in front of a red light while a slow coal train rolled past him.

She opened her mouth to speak, unable to stop herself, "Well, well, well looks like you youngsters still have to obey signals! As I was saying dear boy, I'm Sandy! Enjoy this face because all you'll see from now on is my ass!"

Spencer glared dangerously at the Austrian engine, yelling inconherently, but Sandy could care less. With a cheerful blast of her whistle, she made her way towards the finish line in Suddery, being sure to take her time for it would be a while before Spencer would get the green light. Shortly before Suddery, she started slowing down, rolled into the station and stopped at the platform, winking at Edward who didn't quite know what to think. Never did he even expect in the least for her to be there faster than Spencer, and not even then any signs of her being out of breath, despite him remembering she had talked about a trick to play on the silver A4.

A few moments later, Spencer arrived and came to a halt next to Sandy, mouth hanging open, his face lined with anger and stuttering, "You didn't even warn me about that, that fog of black smoke, you know how unfair that was?! And that signal, bahh..."

"Well you are faster, but being smart can even make someone fast fail, especially when it hits unexpected and they don't know about scheduled freight trains," Sandy chirped.

"So I declare Sandy the winner of this race," Edward stated, "You better head back to Tidmouth now before anyone sees you here and questions it."

Sandy left for the turntable, not being able to suppress her laughing. Spencer's face at seeing her there first has been priceless, he clearly hadn't expected _that_ to happen. And another familiar laugh could be heard from over at the water tower.

"Henry, what are you doing here? I thought you were already out and on your way down the line?" Sandy said, surprised to see him at the station.

"Well, I had to stop to take on water. Then I saw Edward arriving and backing up into the siding at the station entrance. When I asked him what he was up to, he told me that you two were racing to this station so I decided to stay here to see who would be winning. I never would've thought Spencer was _that_ slow," Henry said and grinned widely. "Oh but I have to be on my way now, my train is already expected and I can't be late now. See you later!"

With that said, Henry set off, leaving a grinning Sandy and an angry Spencer behind. The silver A4 was fuming, why did he let himself get tricked into racing and engine he didn't know at that time of day? And then Edward and even Henry had seen him fail. They probably would tell everyone and they would laugh about him for sure.

"Now I just hope that Henry won't tell anyone because if he tells Percy or Thomas we're sure to be found out and then we got fire on the roof," Sandy mumbled to herself after having been turned around and heading back to Tidmouth.

Spencer grumbled, still not quite back to his senses after he had been defeated just like that, but then he followed Sandy back to Tidmouth. Neither of them felt the urge to hurry, the day has only just begun and the tracks were quiet with hardly anyone out so they weren't blocking anyone's way either. When they arrived at Knapford, they saw that Edward was already back and sitting at platform four, talking to Percy before the little green tank engine left the station with some empty trucks. Edward then joined the two express engines and they went back to the sheds together. Luckily nobody was there and so they backed into their berths, waiting for the Fat Controller to arrive. Only minutes later, a familiar blue car pulled in and stopped near a siding. The controller heaved himself out of the car and walked over to the three engines.

"Good morning, Sandy, Edward and Spencer! I have a special job for the three of you. Sandy, you will take an express to Vicarstown on your own, Spencer will take a non-stop goods train to meet you there and he'll be taking the express back then. Edward will help you two with shunting the coaches and trucks correctly. I expect everything to run smoothly and right on time! And in the evening, James will double-head the special with you again, Sandy," with that said, the Fat Controller drove off.

The trio left the sheds once again, heading for Tidmouth station. Spencer soon continued down the mainline when his trucks had been arranged; this might not be his usual work, but he was used to helping out when help was needed. The passengers were already waiting as Sandy back up to the coaches Edward had shunted into place. She was nervous as this would be her first run alone, but she was determined to make it a run to remember for her passengers. Some children started taking photos of her then before their parents called for them to board the train. As the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, she slowly moved out of the station, whistling so nobody would miss her. Soon, she was out in the open countryside, enjoying the wind blowing up her smoke and the sun glancing down on her.

Meanwhile, James was taking a slow goods train and had just been running over Gordon's Hill, reaching the bottom, when he heard a loud, shrill whistle and then something royal blue thundered past with the express. He raised an eyebrow, his mouth hung open at the speed, she probably was that fast due to descending track and a fairly heavy train attached to her and pushing her. Only then he noticed it had been Sandy, who else could've been royal blue except for her? He caught a glimpse of the sun being reflected off her dome and boiler bands, she must have been polished to perfection. His golden eyes followed her until she disappeared in the distance. James sighed heavily, he didn't even notice the blush that had formed on his cheeks for some reason. Something had been on his mind for a while, she looked so very familiar to him apart from the fact of being a compound, and he knew he had seen a photograph of exactly that royal blue engine somewhere, but he didn't remember where exactly.

Soon, Sandy reached Vicarstown and she even was ahead of the usual schedule for the express, she broke Gordon's average travel time with her run. As the passengers got off the train, they thanked Sandy and her crew for the fast and smooth run and praised her to be really useful. Sandy smiled, happy about the great feedback she had received for her first trip alone. Spencer had glanced at the station clock quickly and knew that she had been way ahead in time so he didn't need to hurry to take the train back. Sandy got uncoupled and went to the turntable and as she was turned around, a few boys stood beside the track, taking photos of her again. One of the adults standing with the boys explained that her class was famous for pulling the Orient Express, pointing to her number on her cab and the customly fitted logo on her tender. The boys cheered at her when she rolled off the turntable and whistled, ready to go back to Tidmouth. As she passed Spencer, he grumbled at her, mumbling something like how she wasn't supposed to be faster than him by any means, but Sandy simply shrugged it off and continued down the mainline back to the sheds, collecting a few empty trucks at stations to take them to the shunting yard as her crew had been told so on short notice via a phone call at the station office.

Back at Tidmouth, only James was in his berth, looking deep in thought. At first he didn't even notice the presence of another engine until Sandy let off some steam as she backed up next to him. His eyes slowly wandered over to her, surveying her closer to get the information he was craving since she had shot past him with the express. It was still nagging at the back of his mind and then it suddenly dawned on him when he saw the golden crest and the number plates on her.

His thoughts started running wild as his eyes darted all over her, it all came to his mind all at once, ' _kkStB 306… Karl Gölsdorf… Orient Express… That book! My old driver had shown me a book about central European engines and trains once when I was very young! Her appearance seems to have changed so very much since I've seen that picture, but then again, that was before World War II… It's surprising she survived at all. But, isn't she supposed to be black?! Oh well, royal blue really is the only colour for an engine of her standards, and then a famous one on top of it._ '

Some words must've slipped past his lips as Sandy was now looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He quickly closed his mouth, blushing slightly, now being aware of how strange it must've seemed to her to be stared at once again. Sandy looked up at the clock outside in the yards and noticed it was time to go for their evening special. It took James a few seconds to realize he had this last job to do for the day, but he soon followed Sandy in silence to get their train. The two engines didn't speak a word for their whole journey and when they came back from their run, they just backed up in their berths and fell asleep right away.


	4. Chapter 4 – Accidents & Old Friends

The next morning busy chatter could be heard from inside the shed. It almost sounded like an argument, though when listening closer, one could clearly hear James busily discussing things with his driver. James asked him if he had a book about Central European expresses to make sure he hadn't been just daydreaming the previous day. He also asked his driver if the big photograph he had been given by his trial crew still was stored inside his cab and vaguely remembered that he had received it as a present when he felt terrible after his failed trials, it had really made him feel better and even put a smile on his face on a rather dull day.

Slowly he started to remember more and more about what he had read about that particular class of engines and suddenly it struck him: what if he still felt that strong attraction towards that one of the sisters in particular after so many years, even though she happened to be so similar in looks to the Schools Class he despised so much? Was he just acting like a jerk around her to cover up his actual feelings? He couldn't quite tell… All he knew was that he needed to tell her the truth about his past and how he actually came to know her before she herself even knew he existed.

It probably was around 11 in the morning when he heard an all too familiar whistle before the blue kkStB 306.02 came into view. She slowly rolled onto the turntable, something clearly bugging her as she had a very downcast expression on her face. As she finally was turned around, her crew slowly backed her into her berth, she was sighing heavily and looking down to the ground. She didn't even notice someone was looking at her with concern in his gaze. One part of James wanted to know what was on her mind but he also didn't want to upset her further, not after what had happened between them already.

He dearly regretted being rude to her now that he had found out who she actually was and he wanted to apologize, though he didn't know how. James then decided this was the only chance he'd probably get so he put all his eggs in one basket. He convinced his crew to let him talk to her directly rather than from the side. He then slowly made his way onto the turntable, getting turned around to face her. He slowly crept forward, stopping about one meter in front of her. Sandy didn't even notice that the mogul had moved up to her, she was deep in thought and totally lost. As he cleared his throat, her eyes snapped back up, taking on an angry glare.

"What do _you_ want now?" she spat at him. "I'm not in the mood for any kind of conversation…"

"I- I'm sorry for my asshole behaviour… I really shouldn't have been that rude without even knowing you," he couldn't even look at her.

"Quite late for a proper apology, right… You know what? I'm freaking pissed by your behaviour! Why can't you just act normal and go on with your work and leave me alone?!" she narrowed her eyes and snarled.

"Because I fucking care about you! Yes, now you know why I've been acting so damn stupid. I only realized this yesterday when I found out who you _really_ are. I wish I could take back all the mean words I said, but, I can't… will you accept my apology? I truly am sorry," James pleaded.

"I do accept your apology, but don't expect me to be nice right away. All the things you've thrown at me, that's something I simply can't forget that fast," Sandy stated.

A small smile crept up on his face as he looked at her. He felt very light-headed now that he had gotten this off his heart. Sandy was aware of how close he was, feeling slightly uncomfortable with anyone close to her that was not a member of her crew. She wasn't used to closeness of any kind since she had her heart broken those many years ago. As a result, her crew started to back her up, knowing she was feeling uneasy, until they heard a small clanging, noticing she had reached the buffers behind her. Seeing this, James had a flashback, remembering their accident and his mind recreated the feelings she had left him with. He blushed slightly, but then he thought he wanted to risk it all now, slowly creeping forward once again. He remembered how his buffer beam would easily go under hers due to her being taller and his removed lamp posts.

Sandy sighed, not even noticing James had followed her further into her berth. She had her gaze glued to the ground on her left side again, not paying any attention to her surroundings. Only till his nose was nearly touching hers, she noticed his breath, gasping in surprise and trying to reverse further. But she couldn't, she was stuck and left to wait until he would move out of the way and she certainly didn't like to be trapped like that.

"What do you actually think you're doing?! Trapping me like this, eh? Back off, I don't like this!" she tried to make him move.

' _No, I guess this is not a good idea right now considering I just apologized for being an idiot,_ ' James thought and his crew backed him away again onto the turntable and then back into his berth, with him muttering a small "Sorry".

Sandy sighed, at least he had listened to her this one time. She then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, not knowing a pair of golden eyes rested on her, having a look of compassion in them and… longing?

The next time she woke up, the sun was setting already and James was prepared for their evening special and her crew just arrived as well from their afternoon nap. The Austrian express locomotive yawned and blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes used to the light. Her eyes slowly wandered over the rails until they flicked over to her right side, looking directly into golden ones. James had a smug grin on his lips before looking away again. Oh she won't find out about his secret, at least not very soon.

About half an hour later, they were both ready and sitting at platform one, waiting for their coaches. They were surprised to see Edward coming in with them, but then didn't wonder anymore. He had already been helping out the past few days since there were too many trains for Thomas, who also had to run his branch line, and Percy to handle alone. As soon as the coaches were ready, Sandy and James got coupled to them and the passengers started boarding the train, eager to get home. Sandy was the pilot again, but due to the little incident on their first run together they weren't expecting any problems on this run since she had learned her lesson about speeding already. And they now had a spare coupling stored in Sandy's cab as well.

Sandy had been deep in thought once again as she suddenly jumped at the guard's whistle. James grumbled behind her and rolled his eyes, wondering what has happened to her that she was that out of character. After Sandy had finally snapped back to reality, they departed with James secretly hoping there won't be any more hold-ups.

The two were almost at their final stop before Vicarstown, when there was a loud whistle. They couldn't see further down the line since they were going round a bend, but they heard laughing, giggling and rattling somewhere ahead of them. James' eyes widened in horror; he knew immediately what had happened. Gordon took a fast non-stop goods train about half an hour before the evening special and now the trucks were on the run down the line, right towards them! His driver knew as well and applied the brakes right away, but the train couldn't stop in time and there was no way to avoid a crash. Sandy only heard James yell something in a rather high-pitched voice before she saw the runaway trucks come into view. Only then she was aware this wasn't going to end in a good way and blew her whistle loudly before the world went black for her.

James could only watch as the trucks derailed and broke into pieces, smashing against Sandy and causing her to derail as well. When the clouds of dust and smoke cleared away, the degree of damage slowly dawned on everyone involved. The kkStB 306.02 lay on her right side, all scratched and in a horrible shape surrounded by the remains of the trucks and the load they had been carrying. Her tender was still connected to James though it was terribly bent and parts of her handrails were scattered all over the place as well. Her golden boiler bands were out of shape and standing off in different directions, making it look like she would be stripped down for scrapping. Her features were lined with pain and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Luckily, her face took no damage apart from a small scar on the left side above her lips. It was bleeding slightly, probably due to some wood or metal parts still stuck in her skin.

Her driver and fireman had already jumped clear before the crash. They were now surveying the damage and already called for help and the breakdown train. Sandy's driver Georg was kneeling down next to her, trying to get the scale of wood out of her skin. He managed to remove it without breaking it and then pressed his handkerchief to the scar to stop the bleeding.

"You will be fine again soon, don't worry," he tried to calm her down.

Sandy's crew had arrived from Austria only this morning when they took her over from her first crew in the evening, they had known her since they rediscovered her in that small shed-like building as young grown-ups after World War II. Ever since then, the two had been tending to her and taking care of her. As time has gone by, they started working for the ÖBB, learned how to properly tend to steam locomotives, how to fire them up and drive them. The two also helped restoring the kkStB 306.02 a few years after they had earned their certificates and so she learned to trust in human beings again.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, the breakdown train finally arrived and the workmen started on tending to the damaged engine. Her driver and fireman were helping to the best they could, securing their engine on the flatbed when the cranes had lifted her onto it and accompanying her to the steamworks. As soon as they arrived there, Victor also surveyed the damage and already gave orders to his workmen to arrange Sandy's repair and a repaint. Meanwhile, the Fat Controller had arrived in his blue car to survey the injuries as well. He praised everyone for having done a good job on getting Sandy here so fast.

Then he spoke to her, "Your repair will take some days, Gordon's runaway train has caused a lot of trouble. Now Tina and Cally have to take over your jobs and I have to rewrite some time tables. We will try to have you fixed as fast as possible, though I will have to order another engine to help out with the work too. You're not to blame for this accident and I will have a serious word with Gordon and his crew."

With that said, he turned to Victor and gave some orders to him and also asked if he needed anything for the repairs. Victor only mentioned a few things that he still needed to start working, but was confident to be done soon. Then the Fat Controller left, thinking about how to reorganize the time tables and where to get another new engine at this time of a year. Back at Knapford, when he was about to enter his office, he overheard Cally, Donald and Douglas talking about a small railway in Scotland that had been shut down due to money shortage. They talked about how all the engines were sold on to heritage railways or museums and were now waiting for restoration or overhaul. Sir Topham Hatt walked over to them and cleared his throat. Then he asked the trio which engines they have been talking about.

"Well, Sir, ye know there's this Caledonian Highland Railway 944 Class, also known as the 'River Class', a wee class of 4-6-0 engines designed by F. G. Smith for the Highland Railway. Some went to the LMS in 1920 and only two went to the British Railways later on in 1946. There's only one surviving up to now, he's been a good friend of us, right Dougie?" Donald explained, looking over to his brother.

"Aye, that's right. He's a nice lad, and hard working too, Sir," Douglas agreed.

The Fat Controller was in thought for a few minutes before speaking up to the twins, "Please tell me more, where can I find this hard working engine and is he in need of restoration?"

This time though, Cally answered, "Right now he's on display in the Glasgow Transportation Museum where I was for quite a long time too, but I heard talk of the owner trying to sell him on to a private collector where he would just end up rusting away again."

As Sir Topham Hatt heard this, he thanked the three engines and walked back to his office in a rather quick pace to look up the telephone number of the museum to phone them and arrange a meeting. After a few minutes of exchanging information, the controller got to know that the engine was still in working order and that his name was Aindrea. He assumed that his name came from when he was working for the Highland Railway. The Fat Controller soon had an appointment arranged to inspect the engine and hoped he could afford him despite the money shortage.

A few weeks later, a blue engine bearing the Caledonian Highland Railway crest came into Vicarstown station directly from the mainland. He had dark blue name plates on his splashers on each side, his name in silver lettering written on them, his number "944" written on his cab sides and there also was a small Scottish flag on the backside of his tender. The new engine had blue eyes as bright as a Scottish winter's sky as well as some freckles across his nose and cheeks. Donald and Douglas had been sent to wait for the new engine and to show him around the island since they knew him from their days back in Scotland. They were happy to see their old friend again and nearly talked him down with questions about how he has been, what he has done since they've been gone and what he thought of the island so far.

"Whoa there, laddies, calm ye smokeboxes, one after the other… To get ye minds a little refreshing, long story short: After my line closed down, I was sitting in a shed with most of my wee brothers. Ye probably already know that some of them have been sold on to the LMS and later on to the BR, but sadly didn't make it through the end of steam. I was the only one remaining after British Railways decided for my retirement and sold off to the Glasgow Transportation Museum to be restored and then put on display next to Cally. It got very quiet when men came and told her she was to work here and took her with them. She's been a shy but friendly lass, enjoying the company as she's been there alone beforehand. There still were the two other engines, but they were rather arrogant, not talking much. After years and years of just sitting there, people taking pictures of me and seeing the world outside change in a rapid pace, an important looking man came to visit me a few weeks ago. He asked me a few questions and then disappeared with the museum manager. After a while, he came back, smiling and stating that he bought me and that I was to come to his railway, he also told me that ye two and Cally would be here as well so I would have familiar faces around," the new engine finished his story.

"Aye, we know most of this already, but it's nice to know what happened after they took Cally away," Douglas told him.

"It's good to have ye working with us again now, Aindrea," Donald smiled at him, knowing that his friend's name might cause some confusion at first since only the Scots new its real meaning.

"Ready for ye wee tour round the island to see the important places, lad?" Douglas questioned.

"As ready as I'll ever be, let's get te, lads!" the new CR engine answered before the three set off down the mainline.


End file.
